Cold call shock for mobile customers

Inflation-busting hikes hit millions during contract

MOBILE phone companies will have taken an estimated £1.2billion out of their customers’ pockets in mid-contract price increases after next month’s hikes, Tesco Mobile chief Tom Denyard says.

O2, EE, Three and Vodafone are all raising prices for contract customers next month, with the latter trio raising theirs by an inflation-busting 4.5 per cent, the biggest price increase in nearly a decade. An estimated 40 million people will pay more to use their mobiles from April.

Mid-contract price hikes have historically moved in line with inflation. However, while inflation has fallen over the last few years, the above-cpi price hikes from mobile phone operators have grown.

Denyard said that with many struggling financially due to the effect the pandemic has had on the economy, the price hikes will add to the pressure on them and could deepen the digital divide between haves and have-nots. “Many operators are putting through price rises that are bigger than anything we’ve ever seen and those record price hikes are coming at the worst possible time for millions of people,” he said.

Research carried out for Tesco Mobile found that 38 per cent of Britons said that even a small increase in their household or utility bills would cause them to worry about their finances. As a result, Denyard said mobile phone companies should reverse the upcoming price hikes.

Karen Perrier, chief executive of the debt charity Money Advice Plus, agreed and said the extra money taken out of household budgets by the hikes could have a “devastating effect” on people. “An alarming amount of people are struggling to afford essentials like food, heating, or even their phone bills.that’s why it feels especially wrong to profit from price hikes this year,” she said.

Uswitch mobiles expert Ernest Doku said: “Mobile phone providers always put up their bills in the spring, but this year’s price rises are more dramatic than usual.

“Unfortunately, these price rises are written into your contract, so you don’t have the option to leave your deal without paying a penalty. If you’re not happy with the situation, make a note to switch providers when your deal is up.”

Last year Tesco Mobile partnered with the homeless charity Crisis to provide phone handsets and data to vulnerable people. Denyard said it could extend its partnership with Crisis beyond their current two-year deal.

He added: “We want to make sure that people do not lose connectivity, otherwise they’ll lose access to essential services such as benefits and the health system.”

BREXIT will be good for British businesses, according to threequarters of people, who believe it will help them create more jobs, new research shows.

The survey from Hitachi Capital Business Finance found that people in London were the most confident, with 81 per cent saying there would be benefits for British companies from leaving the European Union.

Hitachi surveyed more than 2,000 people and the most commonly mentioned benefit – 27 per cent – of leaving the EU was companies creating more jobs. Businesses being able to react faster to opportunities was the second most cited reason at 26 per cent, followed by companies having to partner with UK suppliers at 25 per cent.

Just under a quarter of people said the main advantage of Brexit would be that companies can react to crises faster.

Hitachi’s head of insight Joanna Morris said: “It is great to see that people are looking for the positives and opportunities coming from Brexit, rather than dwelling on what people voted for a few years ago.

“It is perhaps a sign that the country is healing and becoming more united.”